--Willie Bloomquist, on his desire to participate in the 2018 Olympics with Royals teammate Jason Kendall.
(Kansas City Star)

"We're not messing around. What a story! Isn't it great?"

--Jason Kendall, supporting teammate Willie Bloomquist's announcement that the pair plan to participate in the two-man bobsled at the 2018 Olympics.
(Kansas City Star)

"He crushes. He broke me in Spring Training. We took him out to eat, and he ate a full rack of ribs for an appetizer and then crushed a steak and potato and everything for dinner. And then he goes for dessert. The kid can eat. It's unbelievable."

"I've been catching a lot of guys, but this kid is unbelievable. The most amazing thing is he's around the plate, he throws strikes, and he's always in the strike zone. [Normally], especially guys that young, like Stephen, they come and get behind in the count, but he didn't do that today. He just attacked the strike zone."

"His location was the best part. He was able to get ahead I don't know how many times. I can probably count on my hand the amount of times he got behind, and I think one of them was on the first at-bat."

"He was very, very good. There was a focus on his fastball, and we wanted to attack the fastball, but he never really gave us anything we could drive. He was so good with commanding his off-speed [pitches] and putting away righties with his changeup."

--Pittsburgh's Lastings Milledge, on Nationals rookie Stephen Strasburg, who gave up just two runs in seven innings on Tuesday night in his Major League debut.
(MLB.com)

"He's a horse. He smells a complete game. He smells a win. It's amazing."

--Bengie Molina on Matt Cain, following the pitcher's third complete game in four outings.
(San Francisco Chronicle)

"I didn't care about the pitch count. I heard my last fastball was at 94, so I felt great."

--Gio Gonzalez on his 117-pitch outing Sunday, which was the most pitches thrown by an A's pitcher in two years.
(Oakland Tribune)

"It's a little strange. It definitely wasn't something I was looking to do. You don't want to be the one to replace him. But it's an opportunity for me, and I'm going to go out and take advantage of it, I guess."

--Chad Cordero on getting a return call to the Majors to replace the retired Ken Griffey Jr. on the Mariners' roster.
(Seattle Times)

"I'm being honest with you. ... Every start is its own challenge. There's no reason to combine starts and say, 'I've had two good ones.' This is important to have another good one."

"It's getting better, no question. I've said it every year that I've been here: Each year is a new year. There are all kinds of things you need to work on. If you're not trying to get better each day, you're not doing your job."

"I know nothing is in stone here, so I always look over my shoulder. I just want to pitch good day to day, so I don't have to do that. They're just renting me, so use me as long as you can. I'll look over my shoulder for 10 years if it [keeps me here]."

"Now he's been given the freedom to be himself, and what I mean by that is there's not a whole lot of times where he's been given an opportunity to just play every day. And that's exactly what he's been given now, and he's making the most of it."

-- Astros manager Brad Mills , on the success of second baseman Jeff Keppinger. Keppinger leads the team in batting average (.304) and is fourth in RBIs (20).
(Houston Chronicle)

"Strikeouts are awesome. They're fun to have under your name and everything. At the same time, you go deeper into games with less pitches you throw. It seems to work out a little bit more in your favor because you get in a rhythm more, you're not throwing 25 pitches every inning. No disrespect to the strikeout."

--Clay Buchholz, talking about his maturation as a pitcher.
(Boston Globe)

"I've been through some rough stuff in the Midwest League. We were up in Kane County (Ill.). It was 19 degrees and snowing. They canceled the game, called a doubleheader for the next day. Next day, it's 22 and sleeting. I pitched one of them."

--Mat Latos, who pitched for Class-A Fort Wayne last year, after his start against the Mets was pushed back due to rain.
(San Diego Union-Tribune)

"If David comes out and he's throwing his fastball where he wants to, he could throw well against the '27 Yankees, the 2010 Yankees or the 2008 Rays. If he's throwing his fastball, he's good -- period -- regardless of the team."

-- Rays manager Joe Maddon, on pitcher David Price facing the powerful Blue Jays, who lead the American League in home runs.
(Toronto Globe and Mail)

"The bigger the situation, the bigger the man. That's what Ike brings. When you have that type of poise, you kind of live for those moments. You have your best at-bats in those moments. He is a pretty special young hitter right now."

-- Mets manager Jerry Manuel on rookie first baseman Ike Davis, who hit a walk-off home run Tuesday night at Citi Field.
(New York Daily News)